


6 Times You Didn’t Leave and The 1 Time You Did

by MyDearestReaderFanfics



Series: 6 Times You Didn’t Leave and The 1 Time You Did [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Childhood Friends, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-06-29 06:40:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19824607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyDearestReaderFanfics/pseuds/MyDearestReaderFanfics
Summary: Keith and the reader have been friends since kindergarten. They've been together through thick and thin... perhaps they might feel more than just platonic affection for each other after everything, though.





	1. Preschool Preface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of a beautiful friendship is born between Keith and the reader during the first day of kindergarten. When the reader gets sick, though, Keith’s more vulnerable nature is shown.

Age 5:  
You were starting kindergarten today and needless to say, you were all kinds of nervous. What if you didn't make any friends? What if the other kids were mean? What if you didn't know the answer to a question? These questions circled around your five-year-old mind. As if sensing this, your mother ran a soothing hand over your shoulder. “Don't worry, dear, you'll do great. If you get nervous just smile and say ‘hi’. You'll make plenty of friends.” She smiled warmly at you before gently nudging you towards the door that your new teacher was holding open for all the toddling students. “Okay, mama, I'll smile just like this!” You flashed her your biggest grin before turning around to trudge off to class. “Just like that (Y/N), I love you, honey!” “Love you too, mama!”

Once you were inside the classroom, all your worries seemed to melt away. A few other children had gathered around the blocks with you and you were all chatting eagerly. A boy named Lance was building a tower and telling an elaborate story along with it, making you and the other kids laugh. Halfway through his story, the bell rang and the teacher signaled for everybody to sit down where a piece of trifold paper that had their name on it. As everybody finally found their spot, you noticed that the seat next to you had a nameplate, but no person to fill the empty spot. Just as you were pondering whether or not you should raise your hand and tell the teacher, a little boy with big violet eyes and a hippo backpack came shuffling in. He looked like he had been crying and you felt bad for him instantly. Your teacher walked over to the door to talk to the boy’s parent, but you were more focused on the boy who was now sitting down next to you. “Hi, um…” You weren’t sure what to say. Before you could continue, Lance interjected. “Why are you crying?” “I’m not!” The boy next to you looked at the desk in embarrassment. “You are too! I saw you.” You decided to intervene here, not wanting the moping boy next to you to be so upset. “Maybe it’s just his ‘all-err-gees’, my mommy has those and sometimes they make her eyes all watery like she’s crying.” Lance looked content with your argument and turned back to another one of the kids you had been playing with earlier. You turned to the new kid. “Hi. I’m (y/n).” You smiled the nicest, most friendly smile you could muster, just like your mother had instructed you to. “What’s your name?” The mystery kid blinks at you owlishly before mumbling a timid “I’m Keith”. “Want to be friends, Keith?” He looked even more taken aback by your request. “But I don’t know you.” “Hmm, you’re right. But maybe we can color together, then we can be friends, right?” You beamed at him again and he couldn’t help but crack a smile back at you. “Deal.”

After that day, you two were practically inseparable. You ate your lunches together, painted together, you even played in the sandbox together. It was a given to all of your classmates that if they asked one of you to play, the other was sure to tag along too. Even your teacher made it a point to let the two of you be buddies whenever the class had to go through the halls while using the ‘buddy-system’ when she realized how close you two were.

Which is why when you were absent from school one day because you were sick at home, Keith panicked. You'd never been gone a whole day before; only ever getting out of class early because you had a dentist appointment. Today, though, regardless of your protests to go to school despite your fever, you were at home bedridden. Keith had worked himself into a state of panic, tears pooling in his innocent grey violet eyes. His mother had left him, he didn't want you to leave him too. The teacher, noticing his distress, asked him what was wrong. Through a voice strained with trying not to cry, he told her that he thought you had left. She smiled, touched by how much he cared for you. “She hasn’t left, Keith. She's just a little sick and had to stay home so she could get all better. Would you like me to call her mother and see if you can talk to her?” Keith nodded vigorously, already hopping up from his seat. 

Your mother picked up on the third ring, a sympathetic smile gracing her lips as the teacher explained what had happened. “Of course he can talk to her, but tell him that she sounds sick, so he isn't worried when he hears her.” Your mother laughed softly and from what you could hear, your teacher did too. She handed the receiver to you after a particularly loud sneeze and you gave a nasally “hello”. “(N/n), is that you?” “S’me.” “You sound weird. Is it because you're sick?” “I fink so.” “Get better fast, okay? That way you can come back to school.” “I'll try.” Your response was followed by a coughing fit in which your mom took back the phone and explained to Keith that you had to rest now. You vaguely heard her talking to what you assumed was your teacher again before you drifted off to sleep. 

When you woke up again, it was from your mother gently shaking your shoulder. “Sweetie, you’ve got company.” You blinked owlishly with incomprehension, sleepiness still present. Only when Keith and his father walked in did you fully understand. “Keith!” You grinned, voice raspy as you spoke. As your best friend ran to your side, both of your parents left the room to talk. “(Y/n)! Are you okay?” You sniffle as you nod. “Yeah, just sick. But my mama says that I can go back on Monday if I’m all better.” “I was really worried.” Both the look on his face and his tone were vaguely scolding. “M’sorry.” A sheepish look settled over your features. Feeling guilty for making you feel guilty, Keith went to sit beside you. “It’s okay,” he goes quiet for a moment before speaking up again, his voice hushed and unsure, “please don't leave me.” He wouldn't look you in the eyes and it reminded you of your first day at school. “'Course I won't leave you. I'm just sick, silly billy.” “You have to pinky promise.” He held his pinky out to you and you lock your pinky onto his. “Pinky promise. I'll never ever leave you. We’ll be b-f-f’s forever!” He laughed in relief, reassured by your answer. “Deal.”


	2. Tween Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As their friendship crumbles, the reader finds themselves hoping for a way to talk to Keith again. That opportunity shows itself in a much more painful way than anybody expected. Warning: The ending is very dark and left unresolved.

Age 13:  
You and Keith remained as close as ever, if not more so, as you went through elementary school. Some of your fondest memories were of summers spent hanging out at the pool with Keith to beat the Texas heatwaves. It was only when the summer before your first year at middle school rolled around that things began to change. You and Keith had found out that aside from one measly history class and lunch, you had no chances of seeing each other during school hours. Needless to say, this was wildly different from your years in elementary school where you were together for all almost eight hours of the school day. The day before classes started, you and Keith went up to the park that you had spent most of your early childhood at.

“Do you think it’ll be fun at all?” You nudge a rock with your foot, stealing a glance at Keith. He stayed quiet and you sighed, his silence answered your question. “But hey, we gotta make the best of it right? We’ll still hang out all the time.” This prompts a small smile from your best friend. “Yeah, you’re right.” You bumped your side against his. “Don’t look so sad, we’ll figure it out. We can catch up on at lunch and then again in history.”

Middle school, despite being in separate classes, was off to a great start. You and Keith had made it a point to always eat lunch with each other and hang out after school. But slowly, as the homework and drama that came with being a preteen began to add up, you were no longer able to see each other as much. It was always “I’m sorry (y/n), but I was thinking about trying out for the soccer team, can we meet up tomorrow instead” or “I can’t meet for lunch, I’m really sorry Keith, but I did promise my mom I would study during lunch for the test in my math class”. Between your two conflicting schedules, it was a miracle you two still talked to each other at all. Even still, not having your other half by your side hurt. And the loneliness stung as if someone had stabbed an icicle into your chest. That’s why when the familiar face of Lance and his best friend Hunk had approached you in the hallway one day to ask if you wanted to hang out, because they thought that you seemed upset, you had immediately accepted the offer. It’s not like Keith would care, you had thought bitterly, he was always too busy for you anyway. As you befriended the duo, you found yourself laughing again; smiling without any strain behind it. As far as you could tell, Keith had done the same by befriending student council president, Shiro, who was a year above the both of you. While it stung to see yourself get replaced so easily, you were honestly happy for Keith. Everyone knew Shiro was the nicest person in the school, so it made you happy to know that Keith had extended his usually guarded heart to another person aside from you; even if deep down it twisted your gut uncomfortably for reasons you didn’t completely understand. You wrote it off to missing your oldest friend. The end of the year rounded the corner quickly after that, and you found yourself unable to focus on the way your stomach felt all in knots when you saw Keith due to being busy with final tests.

“Don’t you think I should, (n/n)? Uh, Earth to (n/n), is anyone there?” Lance waved his hand in front of your face, snapping you out of your thoughts. “Wuh- Oh, Lance, sorry.” “Hey, it’s no big deal, dude. But you should know, you were totally staring at mullet-head over there.” Despite yourself, you blushed. “Was not! Why would I? You know we don’t talk much anymore… Anyway, what were you saying?” Lance and Hunk exchange a knowing look before looking back at you. You give them a half-hearted glare in return. “I KNOW that look. It only ever leads to trouble. Whatever you’re thinking, you can forget it now. The last time you two had one of your ridiculous looks, we got detention for almost a week.” “I’m hurt. Your lack of faith, it wounds me really.” Lance placed a hand over his heart, feigning being in pain. “All we were thinking was that maybe you should go talk to him. Like you said, it’s been a while. Maybe you could rekindle that old friendship-” “Romance~,”Lance had butted in while Hunk was talking. You socked him in the shoulder. “Don’t be an idiot. But maybe you’re right Hunk. I barely saw him this summer and when I did, it was only because our parents are friends and he was forced to tag along, not because he actually wanted to be there. He was always too busy hanging with Shiro and Allura.” Allura was a transfer student in Siro’s year. Apparently, Shiro had met her during summer and they had become fast friends. Now she was practically a celebrity at your school. And more importantly, your friend Lance was ridiculously head over heels for her, so you hoped mentioning her would take the spotlight off of you. It did. “I bet they don’t even realize how lucky they are,” Lance grumbled as he looked up at the table where Allura sat with the rest of the Student Council and a handful of other students, Keith included. You stabbed into the “mashed potatoes” on your plate, nudging them around instead of actually eating them. “Hmm? Maybe you’re the one who should go talk.” You grin at him. “Yeah and embarrass myself? Maybe I can do something for Valentines Day. Oh, I can volunteer in that thing the student council is doing maybe that’ll grab her attention.” The rest of lunch was full of fun chatter and you and Hunk teasing Lance. Still, you couldn’t shake off what Lance had said. Why romance? You didn’t like Keith like that, did you?

It wasn’t long until your trio became a quad? Quartet? You weren’t sure what to call it, but nevertheless, you were grateful for the addition. She was a sixth grader, a year younger than you, but she was super smart and in several of your classes despite being younger. Her name was Katie, but after overhearing her brother who was in high school call her Pidge, you all lovingly started calling her Pidgeon. Initially it annoyed her, but she grew to be fond of the silly nickname. She also quickly adjusted to keeping up with the dynamics and talk of the group. The best thing, at least in your opinion, was that she was snarky enough to shock Lance into silence. Those few seconds of pure heaven were usually enough for you to recover from whatever teasing he had dished out your way. Pidge wasn’t the only surprise that came to you, though. Since you were a seventh grader, you were required to choose an elective. Without a second thought, you had chosen art. That had led to surprise two.

Keith Kogane. Your ex-best friend. The person who was basically the other half of you. The guy that your friends were sure you had a major crush on- was sitting in your art class on the first day. You almost freaked out before remembering that Keith did, in fact, go to the same school as you and was just as entitled to choose art for his elective as you were. Gulping silently, you made your way to a seat close to the paint, which just so happened to be on the opposite end of the classroom to where Keith was. Either he hadn’t noticed your entrance, which you highly doubted since he was always very observant, or he just didn’t care. The thought that the second option might be true sent an ache through your chest that you brushed off as nerves. When the teacher arrived, she explained that she would be placing everyone in groups of four every couple of weeks, so to not unpack yet. Much to your relief, you hadn’t been paired with Keith yet. You knew you wanted to talk to him again, but you wanted to on your terms not due to him being forced to interact with you. Besides if things went south when you talked to him, you’d rather not have to be working with him right afterward.

Seventh grade was shaping to be a much better year than the previous year had been. Your group of four were the best friends you could ask for and art class was easily shaping up to be your favorite class. However, you still haven't confronted Keith, and your friends were nowhere near letting you get away with not talking to him. It’s not that you didn’t want to, you did, it was just that you weren’t sure how to even bring it up with him. Your friends' suggestions didn’t really appeal to you; Lance wanted you to just walk up to him and call him out, Pidge said you should consider befriending his friends to get close to him again, and Hunk suggested you go to the soccer meets where Keith played. Despite this, you had begrudgingly agreed to try out Hunk’s idea first if you hadn’t already talked to Keith by the end of the week. Little did you know, you didn’t have to worry about trying Hunk’s idea out; you’d end up talking to Keith the first day of that week, long before your “agreement” would be up.

Art class on Monday was the one thing you were looking forward to. You had a bad case of the Mondays and needed some art to clear your mind. Thoughts of working on a new charcoal piece danced through your mind until you stepped foot into the classroom. There on the board was the new seating chart showing what you were dreading the most. You had to sit across from Keith in the four-seating table. He wasn’t here yet, though, much to your relief. Even as class started he hadn’t arrived. At first you were glad to not have to deal with speaking to Keith, although, that anxiety quickly melted to worry. He was never absent. It was something that you always found odd when you two were friends still. You had gotten sick every now and then and had to miss school, but Keith had always had perfect attendance. The entire period, you were barely able to focus on the assignment at hand, and instead you nervously wondered where Keith could possibly be and what had been bad enough to make him not come to class.

You got your answer on your way to lunch. Pidge and you were walking to the cafeteria when you heard sniffling. Being the gentle-hearted person you were, you told Pidge you’d catch up with her after you went to make sure whoever was crying was okay. What you found froze you in your tracks, shattering your heart into a thousand tiny pieces. There, by the dusty storage closet in a nearly abandoned part of the school was Keith, tears bubbling in his eyes and trickling down in streaming rivers as he hiccuped pitifully. “Keith..?” He looked up to the source of the voice, looking panic-stricken and rubbing his eyes frantically. “(y/n), wh- what are you doing here?” Your backpack clattered to the floor and you were by his side in an instant as if you two had always stayed friends. As if nothing had ever happened. “Keith, oh my gosh, what happened? Are you okay?” Your eyebrows knit together as you carefully inspected him for any wounds. “Like you care.” He grumbled, scooting away from you. A hurt look shot across your face. “What- what do you mean?” He glared at you as best he could with puffy bloodshot eyes. “You leave me for some people you’ve barely ever talked to before and now you come rushing to me acting like you care. I don’t need your sympathy! I don’t know how you heard but forget it. I don’t need your help just cause our parents were friends.” Were? They still were, weren’t they? “Keith, I’d never do that to you. I wasn’t trying to leave you. You did the same to me, anyhow. But- wait what do you mean? Hear what?” “Don’t play dumb! I know you know!” “No, I don’t!” You noticed how his hands were shaking and how he had clenched his jaw. He was trying not to cry. Whatever was going on, it was serious enough to cause Keith to break down. You took a breath, calming yourself, before trying again. “Keith, I honestly don’t know what’s going on. We may not have talked in a while, but that doesn’t mean that seeing you hurting doesn’t hurt me too. I just want to help, please.” He seemed to realize that you aren’t lying. “So you really don’t know?” You shake your head. “Dad- he,” he chokes back an oncoming sob and continues very strained, “there was an accident at his work.” A single tear trickles down his cheek before more follow suit. What he’s trying to say finally dawns on you and before either of you have a chance to fully realize what’s happening, you pull him into a hug. Your eyes, too, were filling with tears. “I’m so sorry. God, I am so sorry.” Keith hiccups, letting himself fall apart as you hold onto him, both of you sobbing openly now. You cling to each other as if you were at sea and you both would be swept away into the nothingness if you didn't hold on tight enough... In a way, you would. The man that was like an extension of your own family was gone. No warning. No goodbye. Just gone. You couldn’t even begin to imagine how Keith felt. Had he left that morning with a hug to his father, expecting to be picked up after school in his old beat up pick up? Did he even get to say I love you? You felt sick.

You two had skipped the rest of your classes, you didn’t have the energy to argue when Keith had tugged your hand to the fields in the back of the school. The tidal wave of anguish had given way to a hollowness for now. The two of you laid in a patch of grass outside the view of the school. There wasn’t anything either of you could say, not that either of you really felt up to talking. So instead, you laid there hoping that this was all some mistake. That some other Mr. Kogane had been in an accident, even if the thought was selfish. What would happen to Keith now, your mind asked. You didn’t know. His mom had left when he was younger. And now with his father gone, you weren't sure who would raise Keith. He didn’t have any grandparents, at least that you knew of. Subconsciously, your hand found his and you intertwined your fingers. He squeezed your hand slightly and you did the same to his. It wasn’t much, but it silenced your mind for a moment. You really hoped it did the same for him.

Your mother picked you both up. She looked the same way you both did. Nobody spoke on the car ride to your house. There wasn’t anything that could be said that would fix any of this, so no bothered trying to. At your house, your mother had to talk to people from the state while you and Keith went to your room. “They’re gonna take me to a foster home. I can hear them.” Keith was crying again, though it was more of a silent, steady kind of crying. You were sitting beside him, close enough that your shoulders were pressed against each other. “Maybe- maybe you can stay here? My mom has always loved you, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.” He stayed quiet; you both knew the idea had no base in reality. The state wouldn’t allow that. It was a while until either of you spoke up again. “Hey, (y/n).” “Yeah?” “Can I ask you a favor?” “Anything.” “Can we keep talking. Even when I leave, I mean. Maybe we can e-mail or, or something. I just… Don’t want to be alone again. I can't handle losing someone else, not now. Please don’t leave me, not again.” “I promise you, Keith, you will never ever be alone again. Not as long as I’m still here.” You held out your pinky finger to him and you saw a ghost of a smile on Keith’s face for a split second as he hooked his pinky finger on yours.


	3. Adolescent Avidity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Keith and the reader reconnected, they explore the growing pains of friendship transitions and entering high school. Will these two ever see each other as more than friends? Only time will tell.

Age 14/15:

As it turns out, Keith was right about what he had overheard. The state had scooped him up and dumped him off at some foster home that had at least a half a dozen other kids living there. The kids were of all different ages from the oldest being almost 18 and the youngest being just over 17 months. The only good thing about the situation and Keith made it abundantly clear that there was nothing good but this one thing, was that he was basically allowed to come and go as he pleased. The foster parents were so busy with all the other kids that they paid no mind to what he was doing. Your mother was furious on Keith’s behalf. But he was just happy to not be too far from the remains of his old life, and he told your mother as much. She just shook her head sadly and hugged him. Needless to say, he spent more time at your house than his.

That summer, your separate friend groups had slowly morphed into one. With Lance’s growing feelings for Allura and Shiro’s refusal to give up on Keith, it was only a matter of time. You and Shiro ended up bonding over being a part of the ‘Protect Keith club’ and Allura was happy to have more girls to talk with. Despite your now happy group of seven, Keith had done his best to keep his new living arrangements under wraps, but the lack of Mr. Kogane in sight and Keith not wanting to let the others come over to his house slowly gave away his secret. Everyone tried their best to not let the new information affect how they treated him, but you did notice how Lance seemed to be a bit more careful with his and Keith’s “rivalry”, being significantly less snarky than usual. It frustrated Keith, but thankfully everything eventually went back to how it was before they found out. The summer ended up being one of the most fun summer’s you could ever remember. You and Keith had stuck together as you promised on that tragic day, but now you had a whole group of people who also wanted to go to the movies and hang out at the pool. It was great! Except when it wasn’t. You missed spending time with just Keith, and while you knew it might be a selfish wish, you wanted him to yourself for just a day. Like how it was when you were younger. 

Your wish was granted, kind of, in the following school year. Keith and you were both taking Art II so you got 50 minutes of time where you and Keith were the original dynamic duo again. Everything seemed to be going so well. But just like in sixth grade, things began to fall out of place. Bottled up emotions caused Keith to lash out in school. The system labeled him as troubled. You knew better, but no one would listen to a kid. He dropped out of soccer despite his skill at it. He got into fights over his and his father’s honor. It seemed like he had detention every other day. Shiro, who was now a freshman in high school would often do his best to vouch for Keith. It only worked half the time. While the teachers respected Shiro for his shining status, there was only so much he, a student, could do.

“Keith, you’ve got to try and ignore them.” “How am I suppose to do that when they won’t leave me alone?!” “I don’t know, Keith, I just know if you get one more detention they’re gonna give you in school suspension. Please, just promise me you’ll try.” Keith averted his eyes. He couldn’t promise you that, not when he knew it would be a lie. You reached for his hand, holding it between the both of yours. “Please, Keith. If it gets that bad just come to find me.” “I don’t need you to fight my battles for me.” He pulled his hand free from your grip. “You know that isn’t what I mean. I just don’t want to see you get in any more trouble.” I don’t want to see you hurt again. Flashbacks of Keith with a black eye and bloody lip flashed through your mind and you internally winced. “We’re starting high school soon and if what I’ve heard from Shiro is true, the consequences of fighting will be worse.” “Then I’ll handle that when the time comes.” You sighed, he was too stubborn for his own good. “Fine. DO what you want.” You were frustrated, why wouldn’t he just listen? You just wanted him to be okay, dammit. Was that really asking so much? “I’ll be at the tree.” The tree was a meeting spot of sorts for you and Keith. As kids it had been the magical tower for you to play pretend at, later it had become a place for you to meet at and just be. Talk, cry, sit. He knew it meant that you had gotten upset. He also knew that it was your way of extending an olive branch. It was your way of saying ‘if you're gonna keep being stubborn don’t bother meeting up with me while I’m still upset, but if you want to talk about something else or you yield then please join me’. Not even twenty minutes later he was there. “Look, I’m sorry. I guess- I just,” he sighed, “I don’t want people talking about me like that y’know. It’s not true and it makes me mad.” You patted the spot beside you. “I know, and I don’t disagree with that. But you’re getting hurt doing what you're doing.” You both sat in silence for a moment. You leaned your head against his shoulder. “It scares me, Keith. Not knowing if one day you're gonna pick a fight with the wrong person, or if the injury is gonna be really bad. Even if it doesn’t… It scares me.” His hand found yours, pinky looping with yours. “I’ll try.” You smile softly. “Thank you.” 

For the most part, Keith had kept his promise. It definitely showed and his detentions had lessened by half of what they use to be. When he did end up in a fight you were always there to be his nurse. Truth be told, you’d gotten pretty good at fixing up cuts and icing down bruises. Sometimes after you bandaged him, the two of you would just lie in the grass together, hands held with a comfortable silence enveloping the two of you. It was times like this that you were reminded of what Lance always told you. You have feelings for him, don’t you? You weren’t sure. All you knew was that you wished you could bottle up these rare, peaceful moments for the days that weren’t as kind.

The following year, you and Keith both agreed to go to the same boarding school as Shiro and Allura. Garrison Boarding School, or the Garrison as the students called it. It made the most sense, but you agreed to it primarily because that’s where Keith was being forced to go. Apparently, his foster home sent all the kids who were old enough to go to the Garrison. Since the school had housing for the students, the foster parents didn’t have to worry about watching and caring for them. On the other hand, your mom only agreed to it since all of your friends were going and she didn’t want to take you away from them. Especially since she was happy to see you and Keith as close as you used to be. 

The week before you had to go to the Garrison, your mom took you and Keith shopping for your school supplies and uniforms. You were a bit disappointed that there was a uniform, but you supposed it wasn’t so bad. At least you could add accessories to personalize it. At the Garrison, you had a shared dorm with Allura, which you were endlessly relieved about, and some other girl named Romelle. She seemed nice enough and eventually you three were super tight-knit. Keith got placed in a room with Shiro, Lance, and Hunk. It was a bit crowded for them, but they all seemed happy enough about the arrangement. You hoped when Pidge joined you all next year she would get to join Romelle, Allura, and you. Classes didn’t start for another week so you and the girls got busy setting up the shared room and familiarizing yourselves with the layout of the girls' dormitory and the common room. During the daytime, you could visit the common room of the guys' dormitory and vice versa, but after the designated daytime hours, it was strictly prohibited. Everyone seemed to respect the rule except a handful of students here and there. Unless caught by a teacher, though, they generally weren’t caught. None of the students were too concerned with ratting them out. You had a feeling life at boarding school was going to be great.

While Keith still had a bit of a rebellious streak, he had mellowed out significantly. With Shiro as his mentor, he learned some techniques to keep himself in check. You were thrilled to not see him hurt or in trouble, but a tiny part of you missed playing nurse for him. Or rather, you missed the moments afterward. On one day when you hadn’t been able to see Keith at all, you were feeling particularly crestfallen. It reminded you of sixth grade. You knew that you were just being a tad melodramatic, but still. Allura and Romelle had agreed to study with some other girls in their dorm and stay over afterward. You had been invited, but kindly turned them down. The subject they were studying was your least favorite and you knew that they were likely going to sneak out later to visit Allura’s crush Lotor. Poor Lance. He would be so heartbroken if he knew. It had been a couple of hours since they left. You’d finished your homework, tidied up, and answered any messages and emails that you had left. Now you were lying in bed, contemplating whether going to bed early or being this bored was better to do right now. At least until you heard a ‘thunk’ at your window. “Hmm?” You rolled off the bed, padding over to the window. Your dorm room was on the second floor, so the mysterious noise had taken you off guard. The face of your best friend caught you even more off guard. “Keith?!” “Shhh. I don’t wanna get caught. Can I come in?” You slid open the window, gesturing for him to hurry in. “Thanks.” “How did you manage to get here?” “I walked?” “That’s not what I meant! This is on the second floor.” “Hmm? Oh, I climbed.” The nonchalance in his voice rendered you dumbstruck. “How can you say that so casually?” He shrugged, looking uncertain. “I can leave if you want.” “That’s not what I said. I’m happy to see you, don’t get me wrong. I’m just surprised.” You hugged him, silently relishing in the feeling of him hugging you back even if it was short-lived. “So, building climbing aside, what brings you to my humble abode.” Was it you or did he have a hint of a blush? No, it had to be the lighting. “I, uh, I wanted to see you.” Awwww. Your heart gave a pitter-patter. “I wanted to see you too actually. I’m glad you came.” The two of you ended up lying on your bed, watching some conspiracy documentary. You didn’t care about it one way or another, but seeing Keith’s eyes light up was worth it. Without following along, you ended up falling asleep. He didn’t realize until your sleeping-self cuddled up to him for his natural warmth. A blush creeping up to his ears, he smiled awkwardly. He gently tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear. Once he knew for certain that you were asleep, he sighed. “You are so important to me, (y/n). Please don’t leave me. Can’t we stay just like this, please?”


End file.
